


Seven Hours

by Borgupine



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/F, F/M, Heartbreak, One Shot, Post-Break Up, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 00:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21090686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Borgupine/pseuds/Borgupine
Summary: A heartbroken Seven of Nine finds solace in a song suggested by the Doctor and a visit from an old friend.





	Seven Hours

“Computer, pause music,” Seven of Nine said. The song had been morose. She’d searched for catharsis, that at least had been the Doctor’s advice.

She sighed and scrolled down the list on her pad, dismissing songs by their titles until one caught her eye. She pursed her lips. It was grammatically incorrect and yet compelling. Perhaps one more before she regenerated for the evening.

The song began and her breath seemed to catch in her throat. Subtle instrumentation and over it a voice sung with a pain that sounded genuine.

“_It's been seven hours and fifteen days since you took your love away_…”

Seven swallowed, willing the lump in her throat away. Her eyes stung and this was no mere malfunction of her ocular implant. She used that excuse too much, Chakotay had told her.

“…_Since you been gone, I can do whatever I want_…”

_And what exactly is it I want_? Seven thought. What she thought she wanted and how events had transpired were misaligned. She’d imagined it all, a life here on Earth. For a while it had been so big and loud. So open and exposed. She could barely stand being in San Francisco at all. So they’d moved out into the country, she and Chakotay. He said they could keep chickens. 

“…_But nothing, I said nothing can take away these blues_…”

Seven trembled. Odd, the environmental systems were functioning in normal parameters. She should not have felt cold. Her stomach was colder still, creating a hollow space inside her. All that rich food they had been eating must not have agreed with her. Perhaps she would be better remaining with nutritional supplements, bland though they were.

“…_It's been so lonely without you here, like a bird without a song_…”

True, it had been quiet without anyone around to speak to. Without the sound of his laugher and hers.

“…_Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling. Tell me baby where did I go wrong_…”

An involuntary sound escaped her mouth. A whimper, a gasp, and then again. She could not breathe properly. As she drew in a deep breath, the tightness in her chest loosened a fraction. Her face was hot and flushed.

The door chimed, prompting a tug in Seven’s gut.

“Computer, pause music,” she said. Was that her voice? It sounded so quiet. Fragile. After wiping her eyes on her sleeve, she added, “Come.”

The door opened and there stood Captain Janeway. _Admiral_, Seven reminded herself. She was no longer on Voyager. None of them were. 

“What’s the matter, Seven?” Janeway asked. “You forgot we made plans? Don’t tell me, Chakotay wouldn’t leave for his conference unless you saw him off?”

Seven cocked her head. “Chakotay and I have decided to terminate our relationship.”

“You’ve broken up? But you’ve only just begun. I have it on good authority that you’re supposed to be married now.”

“Captain,” Seven tutted, a habit she’d fallen into lately. “Admiral, if you are referring to your future self, I hardly think she is the most reliable source on these matters.”

Janeway crossed over the threshold and stood at the side of the bed where Seven was sat. “You’re not under my command anymore, Seven. You can call me Kathryn. Here, I brought you something.” She held out a glass bottle with coloured liquid inside. “Trust me, you’ll like this.”

Seven inspected the bottle, though the label meant little to her. “I am feeling unwell.” She set the bottle beside her pad on the bedside table. She caught the Admiral looking at the device. “Music,” she said. “The Doctor thought it might help me feel better after—”

“After you and Chakotay decided to break it off? Yes, you said.” Janeway sat on the edge of the bed. “Tell me, is it helping?”

Seven’s bottom lip quivered. She attempted to mask it with a hand, pretending she had an itch on her chin that required stimulation. “I am not sure.”

“Can I listen?”

Seven swallowed. “I…” she began.

Janeway reached for the pad. “Don’t make me order you,” she said and smiled.

“I am no longer under your command, remember?”

“Maybe not, but now I’m curious.”

Seven sat back against the headboard. “Very well.”

Janeway pressed play. They sat together on the bed and listened.

“…_I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard, but I'm willing to give it another try_…”

Seven hugged herself, pressing the tips of her fingers into her arms.

“Nothing compares to you? Hmm, I’d have thought the Doctor would have sent you Puccini.” Janeway looked up from the pad. “Seven?”

“It is nothing.” Seven sniffed. But she could not contain it. The tears came of their own accord. Her mouth made strange sobbing noises and she buried her head in her arms.

She felt Janeway’s hand on her shoulder. How long they remained that way, Seven was not entirely sure. Her eyes stung when she looked up again. Her nose had run and yet, she felt cleaner somehow.

“Here.” Janeway held out a handkerchief.

“Thank you,” she said. “Kathryn.”

“Now would you mind telling me what really happened?”

Seven let out a long breath. “Chakotay found some other… individual to spend his time with.”

Janeway raised an eyebrow. “Anyone I know?”

“It is unlikely. She was an ensign, I believe.”

“Seven, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“Nor I.” Seven stood. She was unsteady on her feet for only a moment. She would need to regenerate shortly.

“Sure I can’t tempt you with a glass of this cognac? It’s Andorian,”

“I will accept,” Seven said. “A small glass.”

Janeway grasped the bottle by the neck. “A nightcap it is.” She headed for the adjacent kitchen in search of glasses.

“Do you want me to have words with Chakotay?” Janeway asked as she poured the alcohol into the glasses. “I can be quite intimidating when I want to be.”

“No.” Seven accepted a glass. “That would only further complicate matters.”

Janeway clinked her glass against Seven’s and took a drink. She made a hissing sound through her teeth. “Strong stuff. So, what will you do now?”

“The Doctor suggested—”

“Never mind what the Doctor said. What about you?”

The fumes from the cognac aggravated her nose. “I am unsure. I think I shall take time for myself?”

“I think you should.”

“Yes, it will be good for me. Perhaps I should take a cooking class. Audition for a musical. But…”

Janeway smiled only this time there wasn’t any warmth in it. “But it still hurts.”

“How can you know that?

“Seven, I wasn’t born a captain. I’ve had my fair share of heartache. It’ll hurt now and it’ll continue to hurt later. But it does get better after a while.”

Seven considered the orange liquid in her glass. “That is not very comforting.”

Janeway shrugged. “It’s not supposed to be, but it is human.” She raised her glass, a salute, and finished her drink.

Seven tasted her own. It was strong and astringent, not at all like wine. She set the glass aside. “How long can I expect to feel this way?”

“I couldn’t tell you that even if I did know.”

“Yet you said you have been through this before?”

Janeway looked away. “It was different. There were breakups before. Sometimes I left them, other times they left me. Sometimes it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Explain.”

Janeway sighed. “You can’t always be with the person you want to, Seven. They don’t always realise how much you need them. All you can do is pretend to be happy when they find someone else.” She turned back to face her. “Can I see that pad again?”

Seven passed the device and waited as Janeway tapped at it. “Here,” she said and handed it back. “There’s a song that helped me come to terms with not being with who I wanted to be with.”

“I will make sure to listen to it.”

Janeway rose to her feet. “I’ll come by tomorrow.”

“That would be appreciated.”

After Janeway left, Seven tipped the rest of her unfinished cognac down the sink and rinsed the glasses. Once her teeth had been cleaned, she crossed the room to her regeneration chamber. It cast green light on the wall and looked out of place so close to the bed. This had been her apartment after Voyager had returned home, a step towards independence. Now it felt like a step backwards.

The pad caught her eye from the bed covers. Seven paused. She decided to pick it up and at least inspect the song that Janeway had suggested. It was a simple title. One word, in fact. She pressed play.

“_I took my love, I took it down_…” it begun.

Seven listened to it once through, instructed the computer to keep it on repeat and stepped up to her regeneration chamber.

“…_Well, I've been afraid of changing, cause I've built my life around you_…”

Seven blinked away her tears and closed her eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs included: 
> 
> 'Nothing Compares 2 U' - Sinéad O'Connor (from which the title of this piece is also taken)
> 
> 'Landslide' - Fleetwood Mac


End file.
